Officer Down: 2007 Deadly Year for Police

Teenage Killers

Sometimes the killers are just teenagers.

(ABCNEWS.com)

Last June in Floyd County, Ind., officers Frank Denzinger and Joel White went to a house to investigate a domestic dispute between a 15-year-old boy and his mother.

Then, without warning, shots rang out.

'Officers Down'

"Shots fired! Officers down, officers down!" White said on the radio dispatch call, obtained by ABC News.

"I'm down, I can't move, other officer is down. I'm not sure of his status," White said on the radio dispatch. "Subject's in the house with a rifle, use caution on approach, he shot us both, he shot us both from inside the house. He might be coming back to finish us off."

White didn't know it but Denzinger was lying nearby, unconscious and dying.

"My leg is, uh, destroyed. I can't move ... I'm losing consciousness, I'm not sure I'll be able to stay conscious to, uh, defend our position here," White said on the radio dispatch.

"Stay with us, we do have help on the way," said the dispatcher.

Denzinger died. The teenager later committed suicide.

White survived but recently had to have hip replacement surgery. Rehabilitation is difficult, but White wants to return to the force.

"I love the job and it means a lot to me," White said.

Despite the increasing risks to their lives, many officers say they remain committed to their jobs.

"It's my way to serve the community and that's why I got into it in the first place," White said.